A friend of mine asked about literature/books for his sister who has a "difficult" child (2-3 years)? I recommended Turecki's book - any others?

I like that book, and I also have had god luck with Mary Sheedy Kurcinka's "Raising Your Spirited Child" . They both discuss children with temperaments that make them harder than average, and are based on the Chess and Thomas theories about temperament. I would be a tiny bit concerned that the child is perceived as "difficult" and wonder about parents over-interpreting some normal 2 1/2 year behavior, which is surely not easy. It might be better not to automatically buy in to their diagnosis.

For that reason, I might also try to have them look at some normal developmental stuff about this age. It's probably more positive to stress the normal difficulties than the exceptional ones. For that I like Alicia Leiberman's "Emotional Life of the Toddler" and also the Gesell Institute series on all ages, by Ilg and Ames. I'm sure there are many others.

Yours, Harriet McGurk